おかえり
おかえり
okaeri
= welcome back / welcome home, said to someone who has just returned
おかえり is the answer that greets a homecoming, the warm welcome back called out the moment someone steps through the door and announces ただいま.
おかえり means welcome back or welcome home, said to a person who has just returned. Its fuller, more polite form is おかえりなさい. It is the standard response to ただいま (I’m home), and the two together frame the act of coming home. Beyond the house, it also welcomes someone back to work, to a hometown, or to any place they belong.
Match the register: おかえりなさい is the safe polite form, while plain おかえり is for family and close friends. Note that 帰る (kaeru, to go home) sounds the same as 変える and 買える but is a different word, so rely on context. As a reply, おかえり is reserved for someone physically returning, not for general greetings.
おかえり comes from おかえりなさい, built on the polite prefix お plus 帰り, the noun form of 帰る (to return home). The longer なさい is a soft imperative, so the full phrase is something like please come home well. In casual speech the なさい drops away, leaving the friendly おかえり.
Everyday use
おかえり！ご飯もうすぐできるよ。
Okaeri! Gohan mou sugu dekiru yo.
Welcome home! Dinner will be ready soon.
Casual / Social Media
久しぶりに地元に帰ったら、友達がおかえりって言ってくれた。
Hisashiburi ni jimoto ni kaettara, tomodachi ga okaeri tte itte kureta.
When I went back to my hometown after ages, my friends told me ‘welcome back.’
Formal / Cultural context
長期休暇から戻った同僚に、おかえりなさいと声をかけた。
Chouki kyuuka kara modotta douryou ni, okaerinasai to koe wo kaketa.
I greeted my colleague back from extended leave with ‘welcome back.’
おかえり completes the homecoming exchange that begins with ただいま, and the pair carries an emotional charge well beyond their plain meaning. To be met with おかえり is to be reassured that someone was waiting and that you are home; to say it is to offer that reassurance. The greeting quietly affirms belonging every single day.
Because of that warmth, おかえり has become a cultural symbol of home and acceptance. It appears as the title of songs and stories, and is used figuratively to welcome someone back into a community, a fandom, or a familiar life after time away. For learners, it is a small phrase that opens a window onto how Japanese marks connection through everyday ritual.